


Overtime

by AmuletStormfall



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Gen, post 4x08, reposted from tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 11:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16831708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmuletStormfall/pseuds/AmuletStormfall
Summary: [Post - 4x08] “Three cups of coffee wasn’t enough?” -  Alex tries to find a way to keep Kara in the D.E.O.





	Overtime

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: “Three cups of coffee wasn’t enough?” - reposted from tumblr.

Alex was at the D.E.O. archive, poring over the pages and pages of regulations that the organisation had compiled in relation to both Supergirl and Superman. There was surely  _ something  _ in here that would allow her to make a case to allow Kara to stay without revealing her identity. In the meantime, she wanted to brush up on the protocol they had when working together with Superman as they would apply to Supergirl now too. She did not want to give Colonel Haley any reason to be able to reprimand her when Alex did inevitably try to work with Supergirl again. 

She moved to take another sip of coffee only to realise that it was empty. She set the cup down with a frustrated sigh. _Damn it._

“Three cups of coffee wasn’t enough?”

She stood up, her chair rolling away from her from the swift movement, and went into a defensive position. She relaxed a moment later, on seeing that it was Brainy, arms behind his back and teetering just at the doorway of the room. “Brainy, what are you doing up this late?”

“The same as you,” he nodded towards the documents she had scattered across the desk she was standing in front of. “Although, I finished reading the online versions a few hours ago and have since been running simulations to calculate our next course of action. The simulations projected a high probability of you being here.” He brought out a cup of coffee that he had been hiding. “I also calculated when you would finish your third cup and deducted that you would want more.” 

“Thanks, Brainy.” She gestured for him to come in. While she sometimes found that Brainy could be excessive at times, she did appreciate his good intentions. Especially now, when she needed to stay awake. “I’m surprised you knew about this place. I think most other agents don’t even know we have an archive.”

“I memorised the building’s layout when I first arrived,” he said, presenting this information as fact, as usual, rather than something to be impressed by. “It is also not too far from Lab 3, conveniently.” 

“So that’s where you were.” She accepted the coffee from him, pulling her chair back towards her and settling back down. “I’ll let it slide this time.”

Brainy was now looking around the room. “Why, may I ask, do you still have paper copies of these documents?”

“Our internal network has been compromised a few times in the past,” she explained. “That and I prefer reading over things on paper. It has a better feel to it.”

“I see. One of the legionnaires collects artefacts to read and he said the same thing.” Alex held back a laugh, seeing the expression on Brainy’s face that distinctly said that he thought it to be a silly notion. She supposed it was understandable, seeing how he could absorb information by only lifting a finger.

They settled into a momentary silence; Brainy decided to pick a random (or perhaps not, based on his fondness of systematic decisions) folder and began reading it. He did not flip through it quickly, as Alex imagined he would, but seemed to be taking in the contents carefully. Unlike her, his concentration didn’t seem to be affected even though it was - Alex gave the clock on the wall a quick glance - almost two in the morning.

“How many cups of coffee have you had?” she asked.

“None.” He didn’t take his eyes off the file. “I have stayed awake far longer than this to work on Legion projects. Additionally, the coffee of this time is also not very effective in providing extra energy for Coluans. It seems to work well for humans, though, and the cup I gave you should be your last for the night. Four is the recommended daily amount for humans.”

“Kara told me Nia Nal was having at least three the other day, and she was still falling asleep.”

“Unsurprising, given that Nia Nal’s anatomy would be vastly different from humans, assuming that her’s are the same as - ” He snapped the file he had been reading shut and looked straight at Alex. “That level of subterfuge is not nearly enough to get me to speak about subjects that may disrupt the timeline.”

Alex would argue that she  _ had  _ nearly got there, but Brainy already looked ruffled by his near-slip and would most likely not welcome her pointing it out.

“Speaking of Nia, good work out there today. Looks like you enjoyed being out in the field.” Alex could tell by the way the mission report (that she had not fully read yet) had doubled in length.

“I used to object being sent out, however, I had become used to it with the Legion and it made me reminiscent of our missions.” He paused, and Alex wondered if perhaps she could consider sending him out more. “It...was also an honour to work with Supergirl more closely.”

“You’ll get to do it again, I promise you that.” She turned back to her documents. “There’s no way I’m letting them tie Kara down. We’ll fix this.”

“Yes, we will,” he agreed. Without an indication that he was going to do so, he occupated the chair next to her and pressed his fingertips together. “I will once again be running several simulations. Please inform me if you require any assistance.” Before she could reply, he shut his eyes, face expressing full concentration.

Despite previous instances of Brainy suggesting that he preferred to work alone, he was here instead of going back to the lab. While as the director, his work methods weren’t always easy for her to deal with, his fierce loyalty to both her and her sister was something she could not ignore. Perhaps their goal to allow Supergirl back into the D.E.O. made him want to smooth out any final knots in their work relationship.

Or perhaps like her, as the worry over Kara’s situation was starting to get to her, he appreciated some company.

Alex smiled and went back to reading her documents, deciding that she believed it was the latter reason.

**Author's Note:**

> Thought I'd post this here since it's not super short. I loved episode 8 so much, it gave me so much Brainy and I was so happy. Also yep I can't think of a title so you just get this lol


End file.
